#Behavioural Signs of Mental Ill Health

[patnaneuro]

Warning Signs of Mental Illness -Know Here!

Understanding and noticing the warning signs of mental illness is super important for everyone. Mental health problems can affect anyone, no matter who they are or how old they are. That's why it's really crucial that we know about these signs to keep ourselves and others safe.

By paying attention to these signs, we can make sure we take care of our mental health and get help when we need it. Whether it's seeing these signs in ourselves or in someone we care about, it's really important to take action and get support. Don't hesitate to seek support from the top psychiatrist in patna 

In this article, we'll talk about the common warning signs of mental illness and give tips on what to do if we notice them.

Warning signs of mental illness

Signs of mental illness vary for each person but some common ones include:

Mood Changes: Feeling sad or hopeless a lot, or having big mood swings might mean depression or bipolar disorder.

Anxiety: Excessive worrying, irrational fears, or panic attacks could indicate anxiety disorders.

Trouble Concentrating: Difficulty focusing or making decisions might be a sign of ADHD or depression.

Behaviour Changes: Acting differently, like avoiding friends or being more irritable, could signal a mental health issue.

Suicidal Thoughts: If someone talks about wanting to die or hurts themselves, it's crucial to get help right away.

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Physical symptoms of mental illness

Sometimes, our bodies can tell us things about our mental health. Mental illness not only affects our thoughts and feelings but can also show up in physical ways.

For example, if someone often gets headaches or stomachaches without any clear reason, it could mean they're feeling stressed or anxious.

Changes in appetite can also give us hints about mental health. If someone suddenly gains or loses a lot of weight without changing their diet or having any health issues, it might be a sign that they're going through emotional distress or have unusual eating habits. Sometimes, people eat more or less than usual as a way of coping with their emotions.

Having trouble sleeping is another sign that something might be up with mental health. Whether it's struggling to fall asleep or sleeping too much, these sleep problems can make us feel tired all the time and affect how we do things during the day.

It's essential to take these physical symptoms seriously and consider if they could be related to mental health. Even though physical symptoms alone don't always mean there's a mental health problem, they can be a clue to explore further. Talking to a mental health professional can help understand what's happening and find ways to feel better overall.

Signs of madness

Having Strange Beliefs: Sometimes, people believe things that aren't true, like thinking they have special powers or that someone is trying to hurt them.

Seeing or Hearing Things: People might hear voices or see things that aren't really there. This can be scary and confusing.

Trouble Thinking or Talking: Sometimes, people have trouble organizing their thoughts or speaking clearly. This can make it hard for others to understand them.

These signs could mean that someone is going through a really tough time with their mental health. It's important to get help from a professional who knows how to support them and help them feel better.

Do i have a mental illness or am i overreacting

It's common to feel unsure if what you're going through is normal or something more serious. Sometimes, we might think we're making too big a deal out of things, or our feelings might seem too strong for the situation. This can leave us feeling confused about whether we should ask for help.

You might notice changes in how you think, feel, or act that seem strange or worrying. Maybe you're feeling more nervous or sad than usual, or you're having trouble sleeping or focusing. It's okay to wonder if these changes will go away on their own or if they mean something deeper is happening with your mental health.

Behavioural signs of mental ill health

Behavioral signs can tell us about our mental health. Sometimes, when we're struggling with mental health issues, our behaviour changes. These changes can affect how we act around others.

For example, you might notice you're not interested in things you used to enjoy, or you're spending more time alone instead of being social. You might also find yourself easily getting mad or upset over small things, or having trouble controlling your feelings.

Changes in behaviour can also show up in how we take care of ourselves. You might notice you're not keeping up with hygiene like before, or you're forgetting important tasks like paying bills or going to work or school.

It's important to pay attention to these changes and think about if they're related to your mental health. 

Mental illness symptoms

Mental illness symptoms affect different parts of our lives, like our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Thoughts: Mental illness can make us have strange or confusing thoughts, like thinking things that don't make sense or having trouble concentrating. These thoughts can make it hard to do everyday things and can be confusing.

Feelings: Mental illness can make us feel really sad, angry, worried, or empty inside. These feelings can make it hard to get along with others and do our work.

Feelings: Mental illness can make us feel really sad, angry, worried, or empty inside. These feelings can make it hard to get along with others and do our work.

Actions: Mental illness can make us act in ways that are different from usual. We might avoid being around people, do risky things, or change how much we eat or sleep. Sometimes, we might not take care of ourselves like we should.

Prevention of mental illness

Preventing mental illness means finding ways to keep our minds healthy and avoid problems before they start. There are different things we can do to help with this.

First, it's important to learn how to deal with tough situations and stress from an early age. This means finding ways to stay calm and handle problems without getting too upset. Doing things like exercising, getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and doing activities we enjoy can all help us feel better.

It's also important to talk about mental health and make sure people know it's okay to ask for help if they need it. This can help reduce the stigma around mental illness and encourage people to get support when they need it.

Creating supportive environments where people feel included and connected is also important. Having good relationships with others and access to helpful resources and services can make a big difference in how we feel.

Overall, preventing mental illness is about taking care of ourselves and each other, creating supportive communities, and making sure everyone has what they need to stay mentally healthy.

Causes of mental illness

Understanding why mental illness happens means looking at different factors that can change how we feel and think. While we don't know everything, we do know that several things can make mental health issues more likely.

Genetic Factors: Sometimes, if someone in our family has a mental health issue, we might be more likely to have it too because of our genes. But it's not just about genes; other things around us matter too.

Biological Factors: Changes in how our brain works or the chemicals in our brain can lead to mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. Hormonal changes during puberty or menopause can also affect our mental health.

Environmental Factors: Tough life experiences, like abuse or trauma, can affect how we feel. Social things like poverty or feeling alone can also impact our mental health and make us more at risk for mental illness.

Psychological Factors: Our personality, how we deal with stress, and the way we think can all change our mental health. Negative thoughts or feeling bad about ourselves can make mental health issues worse.

Social and Cultural Factors: The society we live in, its rules, and how others treat us can affect our mental health. Being treated unfairly or feeling judged can make mental health issues harder to deal with.

Conclusion

It's crucial to understand that having a mental illness doesn't mean you're weak. Asking for help when you need it is a sign of strength. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health.

With the assistance of the best psychiatrists in Kankarbagh, Patna, and the right treatment, it's possible to manage and overcome mental illness.

[beguines]

Yet problems in the legitimacy of psychiatry's vocation have remained, and reached crisis point at the cusp of deinstitutionalisation in the 1970s. At the time, a number of significant studies demonstrated the profession's inherent tendency to label people as "mentally ill," to stigmatise everyday aspects of a person’s behaviour as signs of pathology, and to make judgements on a person's mental health status based on subjective judgements rather than objective criteria.

The study that had the most direct impact on the psychiatric profession—as well as public consciousness—at this time was David Rosenhan's (1973) classic research On Being Sane in Insane Places which found that psychiatrists could not distinguish between "real" and "pseudo" patients presenting at psychiatric hospitals in the United States. All of Rosenhan's "pseudo" patients (college students/researchers involved in the experiment) were admitted and given a psychotic label, and all the subsequent behaviour of the researchers—including their note-taking—was labelled by staff as further symptoms of their disorder. This research was a culmination of earlier studies on labelling and mental illness which had begun in the 1960s with Irving Goffman (1961) and Thomas Scheff (1966). Goffman's ethnographic study of psychiatric incarceration demonstrated many of the features which Rosenhan's study would later succinctly outline, including the arbitrary nature of psychiatric assessment, the labelling of patient behaviour as further evidence of "mental illness," and the processes of institutional conformity by which the inmates learned to accept such labels if they wanted to have any chance of being released from the institution at a later date. Scheff's work on diagnostic decision making in psychiatry formulated a general labelling theory for the sociology of mental health. Again, his research found that psychiatrists made arbitrary and subjective decisions on those designated as "mentally ill," sometimes retaining people in institutions even when there was no evidence to support such a decision. Psychiatrists, he argued, relied on a common sense set of beliefs and practices rather than observable, scientific evidence. Scheff concluded that the labelling of a person with a "mental illness" was contingent on the violation of social norms by low-status rule-breakers who are judged by higher status agents of social control (in this case, the psychiatric profession). Thus, according to these studies, the nature of "mental illness" is not a fixed object of medical study but rather a form of "social deviance"—a moral marker of societal infraction by the powerful inflicted on the powerless. This situation is summated in Becker's general theory of social deviance which stated that "deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an 'offender.' The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label".

Bruce M.Z. Cohen, Psychiatric Hegemony: A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness

[queerly-autistic]

You really can't engage meaningfully with Ed's story in S2 without firmly centring his mental illness and suicidality, because that's inherently what the story is: it's the story of a man having a severe mental breakdown and going to increasingly erratic extremes in order to achieve his end goal, which is to not be alive anymore...and then it's the story of his recovery from that.

And so much of my frustration with the way I see this being talked about (or, in many cases, not being talked about) reflects my more general frustration with how we talk about mental illness and neurodivergence, so buckle in because this got long (also I am going to be discussing suicide here, as well as very brief mentions of psychosis and ocd, so please take care). There's this trend when we talk about mental health: we go 'oh mental illness isn't an excuse' or 'mental illness doesn't make you do bad things' or variations thereof. These are, in my opinion, some of the worst things to ever happen to the discourse around mental illness. It's reductive. Absolutely mental illness can lead you to do things that you would not have otherwise done, even things that you would be absolutely appalled by, if you were mentally well. What do you think mental illness is if it's not something that impacts your brain and how your brain functions? If your mental illness doesn't directly lead to problematic behaviour, then that's fantastic, but that experience is not universal. It's not an 'excuse' - it's an explanation for certain behaviours that's vitally important to acknowledge and understand in order to try and mitigate harm.

There's also this thing that happens with discourse around mental illness where we assume that what you do in the grips of mental illness is reflective of something that's innate inside you. You were violent whilst in the middle of psychosis? Oh, it's because you're an innately abusive person and this just reveals who you really are. You have Tourette's and one of your tics is a racial slur? Oh, it's because you're an innately racist person and this just reveals who you really are. Your OCD is rooted in a fear that you're going to murder your family? Oh, it's because you inherently do want to murder your family and this just reveals who you really are. It's bullshit. What you do in your mentally ill state is not some deep philosophical reflection of your true character, and the idea that it is is something that causes really deep, dangerous harm to mentally ill and neurodivergent people.

So, now that that's over with, back to Ed.

Ed was behaving in ways that were acknowledged in canon as being extremely out of character whilst in the midst of a severe breakdown. Fang himself said that he'd 'never' seen Ed behave this way; even Izzy, who actively pushed for Ed to embody the extremes of his Blackbeard persona, ended up concerned because it became so extreme and out of character that it was impossible not to be concerned by it. The crew who mutinied on Izzy within a day didn't mutiny on him for months, not until their lives literally depended on it, because it's heavily insinuated that they were hoping he would get better. Because this wasn't the Ed that they knew (the Ed that we came to know in S1 - an inherently soft man who is caught in a culture of violence and is tired of it).

The show wasn't subtle about this. It didn't bury the lead. As well as the constant reminders that he was acting out of character in increasingly alarming ways, this was very clearly depicted as a breakdown, an almost total collapse of Ed's mental health. We saw Ed detached and numb and completely dissociated from the world around him. We saw him in private moments of despair, breaking down. We saw him behaving erratically in the grips of mania. We saw him display absolutely textbook warning signs of someone whose made the decision to die by suicide. We saw him smile and say 'finally' at the moment when he knew he was going to die.

The show basically painted a giant neon sign over his head flashing 'THIS MAN IS EXTREMELY UNWELL' in bright lights, and if you miss that, then it's because you're deliberately avoiding looking properly.

(And, important to note, that most of the people that I've watched the show with outside of fandom discourse absolutely took away from these episodes what the show was intending - they saw how unwell Ed was, they were devastated for him, and they desperately wanted him to get better.)

When Ed steered the ship into the storm, and threatened to put a cannonball through the mast, his clear goal was to create a situation where the crew had no choice but to kill him. I've seen people describe this scene as Ed 'trying to hurt the crew', and I think that's very much a misrepresentation of what the show was depicting. It was very blatantly a suicide attempt. He wanted to die, and he didn't care what he had to do in order for him to achieve that goal. That doesn't make it good behaviour, and it doesn't mean people didn't get hurt, but it does make it a very different situation than if causing harm had been his main intent.

There is a fundamental difference between 'he is doing this because he explicitly wants to cause harm to the people around him' and 'he's doing this because he's suicidal and beyond the point of being able to rationally consider who might be getting hurt in the process of ensuring that he ends up dead'. One of those is a bad person who enjoys causing pain - and the other is a deeply unwell person who can be supported and helped to recover and be better (and should be, for the good of themselves and the people around them).

And on that note, the failure to engage with this as a mental health story is also, I think, why I've seen some people get so upset about the show not doing Ed's redemption arc 'right' - because this isn't a redemption arc, and it's not trying to be. One day I'll do a separate post about how much I love that the show explicitly rejected a carceral approach, opting to essentially put him through community rehabilitation rather than punishing him, and even mocking punitive prescriptive measures (that rubbish youtuber apology speech was supposed to be rubbish and unhelpful), but that's one for another day.

The fact is that the show is telling a story about mental illness, and that inherently means that Ed's arc is a recovery arc, not a redemption arc. And if you're expecting a redemption arc, then you've fundamentally misunderstood the story that they're telling (and the revolutionary kindness at the heart of the show).

I have a lot of feelings about this because I genuinely believe that it was one of the best depictions of mental illness and suicidality that I've ever seen. Within the confines of it being a half hour, eight episode comedy show, they told a story about mental illness that was surprisingly realistic (with the obvious fantastical over the top elements of it being a pirate show - and piracy is explicitly depicted as a culture where violence is heavily normalised), and that didn't shy away from the messier, darker, more complex elements of mental illness (particularly of being suicidal).

And then, most importantly, after all that, the show took me gently by the hand said 'you are not defined by what you do in your lowest moment - you can make amends, you can recover, you are still loved, and you are worth saving'.

[ninadove]

Lukadrinette kids

Because I can. Enjoy these silly little thoughts.

📝 General notes:

Marinette, aka Maman, started out as a very successful and very stressed out fashion designer. She ends up retiring at 35 to take over the bakery and finally learn to chill (it’s going… better than expected).

Luka, aka Papa, is a guitarist with a very niche following and is perfectly happy with that. He’s very present in his kids’ lives and the easiest parent to open up to, because of course he is.

Adrien, aka Dad, is the stay-at-home parent and could not be more stoked. And scared. Someone help them

Emma and Hugo are twins, but look nothing like each other, which baffled Adrien and Felix when they were born; Adrien will never admit it, but he was a tiny bit disappointed they weren’t identical.

To help the kids connect with their heritage, their parents speak French, English and Mandarin Chinese at home. Despite it all, Louis’ first words were a full sentence in Japanese — more on that later.

It’s very common for French kids to have two “middle names” (deuxième et troisième prénoms), so I have planned accordingly. Enjoy!

🐍 Emma

Her full name is Emma Sentibug Alya Dupain-Cheng. Adrien would not have it any other way.

She’s the oldest by five minutes and she takes it very seriously. Too seriously, even.

Emma inherited Gabriel’s grey eyes, which will have no influence on her perception of herself at all, no sir.

Like Marinette, she feels responsible for protecting everyone and everything around her, which is why she was blacklisted from using the Ladybug Miraculous before she reached the tender age of five.

As luck would have it, she ended up with the Snake, which is even worse for her mental health. For maximum dramatic irony, I think I’ll call her superheroine persona Aspik.

Aroace and sad. It’s already hard enough to be aspec as it is, but given the importance romance played in her parents’ lives… you get the point.

🦋 Hugo

Aka Hugo Felix Tom Dupain-Cheng. Yes, Felix cried upon learning his name. A lot.

🎶 Bi bi bi bi BI 🎶

Inherited Mari’s talent for arts and crafts and Adrien’s dramatics. Despite being very similar to them both, he often finds it difficult to talk to them.

Uncle Felix, however, is his absolute favourite adult in the world, and regularly knocks some sense into him.

Adrien and Nino were so excited for their sons to be besties! So naturally they hate each other’s guts

They end up kissing about it, though, so it’s fine.

Butterfly holder. Very purple 💜

🐈‍⬛ Louis

Aka Louis Nino Jules (after Juleka)

Because twins were a lot to handle, Louis only came along six years later.

When he doesn’t get his way, he turns petulant and grumpy, which makes him Plagg’s absolute favourite. Luka finds it endearing and jokes that they rub off on each other. This stresses Adrien out, though, as he fears it might be an early sign of Gabriel Behaviour.

The truth is that Louis just has these huge feelings that he doesn’t know how to handle… and you know who relates to this? KAGAMI. She’s the only one who can get him to calm down once he starts crying. She will pick him up, he will cling to her jacket and suck on his thumb, and she will carry on with the conversation as if nothing happened.

Originally Very Small, he gets a HUGE growth spurt and ends up built like Tom, which is very unusual for Cat holders.

🐞 Sabine

Aka Sabine Amelie Rose

The surprise baby of the bunch. She looks just like her grandma Sabine!

A total ray of sunshine. Also very gay.

As the youngest and eventual holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, she triggers Mari’s overprotective tendencies the most. Adrien actually had to step up and get her to back off as it was starting to stir up bad memories.

Because Rose was very ill when the twins and Louis were young, she and Juleka didn’t get to watch them as much as she would have liked. They made it up by spoiling their younger niece beyond reason.

The most musically inclined of the kids. Her love for punk rock and metal clashes hard with her cutesy vibes. Rose couldn’t be prouder. 💖

[pyramidsoul]

Dahmer’s behaviour in prison

Jeffrey Dahmer, Stone Philips Interview, 1994

Regarding Dahmer’s behaviour in prison, there are various opinions on why he would act like that. He was known for playing with food, putting ketchup on his meal to resemble body parts; he once placed a sign in his cell “Cannibal Anonymous Meeting”; he taunted scared guards next to him making them jump by whispering “I bite”.

Following the prison staff insight, he was a model inmate, but based on Christopher Scarver’s opinion, “He crossed the line with some people — prisoners, prison staff. Some people who are in prison are repentant — but [Dahmer] was not one of them”.

However it's important to consider Scarver never really had a direct contact with Dahmer, plus he suffered from a severe mental illness, which makes his statement of doubtful authenticity.

The same Gerald Boyle, Jeffrey Dahmer’s defence attorney, stated “Dahmer was such a milquetoast. He would never have done that stuff. He killed people, but he didn't taunt people. I never saw him do anything that would lead me to believe that he would mimic the deaths that he caused. I just don't believe that.”, claiming it wasn’t the serial killer’s “style”.

On the other hand, Roy Ratcliff, the pastor who baptised Dahmer, backed up the topic saying he'd been told by prison guards Dahmer would joke about cannibalism, effectively affirming the serial killer's ambiguous behaviour.

Last seen of Jeffrey Dahmer in the prison library, 1994

On why of these actions, the theories are three:

Causing outrage to find death: we are aware of Dahmer’s death wish. He claimed multiple times he wanted to be dead, from having suicidal thoughts, to requesting for the death penalty. He was conscious of the risk of his health by being included in the general population, yet, even after people’s recommendations, he chose to be moved anyway. He wasn’t able to commit suicide himself so he provoked people to get what he wanted. Relevant information is also they didn’t find marks on Dahmer’s body, meaning Dahmer didn’t fight back during the attack, accepting his fate. He also said these words no longer before his death to the mother Joyce “It doesn’t matter, Mom. I don’t care if something happens to me”.

His sense of humour: it is known that Dahmer had a particular dark humour. During highschool years Dahmer was known as the clown/mascotte to the students at Revere High School. He staged pranks and he bleated and simulated epileptic seizures or cerebral palsy, which became known as "Doing a Dahmer". Even during interrogation, “He picked up the brown bunch and commented that they held a remarkable resemblance to a person's fingers after they had been immersed in muriatic acid for a while. He placed the banana in his mouth and chewed. "It's not bad."”(cit. Grilling Dahmer). It’s possible he was just spending time as he could.

He had become a shadow of himself: he portrayed himself as THE cannibal in an attempt to attract attention, giving people what they expected from him. He didn’t have real friends, he never had, so he kept this attitude for say “stay away from me”. He toyed with the idea of cannibal quite a bit, because he didn’t trust people. This is the insight Roy Ratcliff gave after he learnt about Jeffrey’s behaviour in prison. Roy became one of the latest and only true friends Jeffrey met.

Roy Ratcliff holding the card Jeffrey Dahmer gave him for thanksgiving

After 28 years, we don’t know why of this behaviour yet, and we will never know. All the theories above are valid, meaning he could’ve acted that way because of a mix of those reasons. Jeffrey Dahmer will find death at Columbia Correctional Institution on 28th November 1994.

[collapsedglasshouses]

An Angel For Noah || Noah Sebastian x OC [Part 9]

DIVIDER ART WORK BY @cafekitsune

PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x Jules [she/her]

MASTERPOST

SUMMARY: Noah goes to extreme lengths to see Jules again.

WARNINGS: SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, swearing, suicidal behaviour, mentions of alcohol consumption, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH SAID TOPICS

A/N: I listened to Black Out Days by Phantogram on repeat while writing this and I cried. A lot. :)

TAGLIST: @trvshdxddy @blackveilomens @crimson-calligraphyx @measuredingold @cncohshit @signs-of-ill-portent @hi-fancy-seeing-you-here @ada-clarence @wild-child-7747

If you wanna be added to the taglist of this story, please DM me or let me know in the comments!

Keep in mind, this takes place in an alternative universe. Even though I write about real people, the way I write them has nothing to do with how they are in real life.

When Jules opened her eyes again, she found herself in that white room. Her heart sunk while tears were still running over her face. This was the moment. She would be banned into endless nothingness. Maybe she was sent to hell, if it even existed.

Right as she was about to panic, she felt a hand on her shoulder and abruptly turned around. Her panicked eyes met with Keaton's concerned ones.

"What's wrong?" He asked the girl as she tried to contain her breaths.

"Why are you here?" Jules wanted to know with widened eyes. "You were in trouble and even though you are dead, doesn't mean I'll not look after you when you need me to." Keaton gazed over her face.

Jules looked at him for a good second to try and read him. His face didn't change a bit, letting her come to the conclusion that he had no idea what was going on in the real world.

Jules took a deep breath and blinked a couple of times, before trying to form a sentence. "I just... Uhm- I needed a break."

She instantly knew that Keaton didn't believe a word that left her mouth. "Are you sure? You look like you cried."

When Jules didn't say a word for a solid minute, Keaton sighed. "I know it can be a lot."

Her shoulders relaxed at his empathetic tone. She felt bad for not telling Keaton what was going on, but she also knew she couldn't just bluntly tell him she had talked to Noah, who shouldn't even know she existed; let alone the confused feelings that mixed into the spectacle.

Jules took a couple of deep breaths, while trying to re-arrange her thoughts. She needed Keaton to give her an advice without telling him what chaos she created.

Keaton looked at Jules with understanding in his eyes, realizing she was struggling to find her words. After a moment of silence, he spoke gently, "Jules, it's okay to take a break from all of this, even if we're in this strange existence now. We all need some time to rest and gather ourselves. It's a part of life, or whatever you want to call it after life."

Jules nodded, grateful for his empathy and the absence of judgment.

Keaton continued, "But remember, there will always be challenges, even here. When they come, it's essential to face them. You're stronger than you think, and you can handle whatever comes your way. Don't shy away from the difficulties you'll encounter."

Jules found comfort in Keaton's words. Although she hadn't revealed the specifics of her recent experience with Noah, Keaton's advice seemed to apply to the unique situation she was navigating. She realized, in life or whatever came after, sometimes the best way forward was to confront the problems and challenges that surface.

"I just want him to be safe." Jules exclaimed quietly, while looking at the floor.

"I want Noah to be safe, too; and I know you'll do your utter best to keep it that way." Keaton reassured her and squeezed her arm.

With that the two left.

Noah felt empty. If he needed to describe it, Noah felt even more empty than before he met Jules. Knowing they had a couple of days off now, he allowed himself to let loose a bit. He hadn't drank a single sip of alcohol since the night he was saved by Jules, but right now he felt like he wouldn't survive his thoughts if he stayed sober.

He ordered a beer. The familiar chatter and laughter of the guests at the bar they went to, echoed around him.

As he sat at the bar, lost in his thoughts, Ruffilo, took the seat beside him. Nick's eyes held genuine concern as he asked, "Hey, Noah, are you okay? The show tonight was incredible, wasn't it?"

Noah shrugged, not wanting to accidentally reveal the strange situation he was going through. He couldn't risk telling Nick something he wasn't supposed to.

His best friend quickly picked up on Noah's desire to be alone. He gave him a comforting side hug, before getting up from his spot and leaving Noah to his own thoughts.

Alone, Noah contemplated how to make his cruel situation better. Filled with uncertainty and conflicting emotions, he ordered another drink, hoping to find solace in the comforting embrace of alcohol.

His vision became blurry with time. He didn't even try to focus on anything anymore. His head was buzzing. Everything felt like it was clouded. But his mind. His mind still didn't relax.

Jules.

Everything he could think about was her. Slowly but surely, he began to find himself ridiculous. Never in his life had he behaved like this when it came to a girl. Even if it wasn't just a girl, but his fucking guardian angel, he felt this thing he couldn't quite describe. He didn't know if it was of romantic nature or just the fact that he was blown of his chair about the fact that something like guardian angels really existed.

He didn't remember how many beers he had drank, but when he stumbled into his hotel room, he was more than just a little tipsy. He was angry. Angry with himself for not being able to let go for a second. Angry with the world for putting him in situations like this. Angry at Jules for leaving so abruptly when he needed her.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the door. All he could think of, was, how he felt when Jules hugged him. He felt like someone had broken his heart in a million pieces even though he didn't know Jules for longer than two hours. It was so dumb and yet he craved her touch, her presence, her voice. He craved her.

A drunken idea shot into his head, as he moved from the door.

"Jules?" He asked into the nothingness of his room, knowing damn well that she heard him. All he could hear was a quiet buzzing in his ears from the alcohol he had consumed.

He sighed. "I know you can fucking hear me."

Again he tried to recognize any shifts in the room. But nothing happened. It was just him, drunk and empty.

He felt like he had no other choice, when he opened his balcony door and stepped outside. The cold wind blew around him but he didn't care, to drunk to even recognize the almost freezing temperatures.

He leaned against the railing of the balcony and looked down. His room was on the third floor. It was high enough to give it another try.

"Jules?" He asked one more time, in hopes he would get the answer he needed desperately at the moment, but again... Nothing happened. Noah's vision became blurry from his anger at himself.

"You're giving me no other choice." He tried to convince himself and lifted one leg to step over the railing, like he already did before a couple of years ago; his hands gripping the metal tightly.

Right as he was about to lift his other leg, the atmosphere changed. Noah felt how goosebumps started to form on his arms, but not from the cold. It felt like a rush of warmth washed over him.

"If you even think about this for one second longer, I'll fucking push you off myself." He heard a female voice behind him speak.

Still hanging in his position, he swallowed hard. "Not really 'Guardian Angel-like' of you." - "Not really 'I'll take care of myself' of you."

Than there was silence for a second. Noah clung to the railing, still staring down at the concrete in front of the hotel, while one leg stood firmly on the floor of the balcony.

"Please, step back, Noah." Jules tried to talk to him calmly, while her heart was racing. She wondered if it was this feeling Keaton had felt right before she died.

"Will you go away, if I do so?" Noah said so quietly, Jules almost didn't catch it. It broke her heart to see him this way. She knew it took more than their encounter and the knowledge that they couldn't just be friends like normal people, to climb over a railing, but seeing him do this risky thing to get her back into his reality broke something inside of her.

"Don't do that to me, Noah." Jules rasped, her voice almost getting washed over by her upcoming tears. She barely knew this man, only being there for him for less than two months, but she knew she would die again if it meant that his soul would finally have some peace. "Please step back from that railing, Noah."

"Promise me, you won't go again." Noah demanded, hot tears streaming down his face as his hands got slightly sweaty.

"You know, I can't. We both know." Jules stuttered, stepping a small step towards Noah. "Please, Noah."

"Why should I listen to your pleadings when you can't even listen to mine?" Noah knew this wasn't about seeing Jules again anymore. It had stopped being about her, the second he looked over the railing. His head was killing him and he felt like hearing her voice was the only thing that took his mind of the other shit he felt.

Jules ears were ringing. She felt like her head was about to explode as she watched the man in front of him cling to the railing, his life literally depending on it. Her mind was racing. She felt like she was going to throw up. She needed to help him at all cost.

And suddenly.

She knew what would bring him out of his trance.

"Keaton wouldn't want that and you know it."

Noah looked away from the pathway and straight ahead. He couldn't believe what she just said.

"What?"

Jules didn't answer him, letting her sentence sit in a little longer. Noah turned his head, still remaining in his position, but he needed to make sure he heard Jules right.

"What did you just say?" He repeated himself, his tone a bit harsher than before. He couldn't fucking believe it.

"You heard what I said." Jules said, the tone of her voice also stronger than before.

Now Noah felt like he was going to throw up. He expected a lot but not hearing the name of one of his dearest friends. A loss he couldn't quite come to terms with. His tears became thicker. He knew she was right but why the hell did she talk about Keaton, yet alone know him.

He slightly flinched when he felt a warm hand on his arm. Only now he noticed he started shaking a little from the cold. He felt like his name washed the alcohol out of his system.

"Why the hell do you know Keaton?" Noah almost hissed at her, anger washing over him. She shouldn't have dragged Keaton into this.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Jules answered him, not letting go of his arm, in case he changed his mind. Noah turned a bit more in response to look her in the eyes. He felt how his fingers were freezing cold.

When he looked in her face, he realised she was also crying. He studied her face as he began to realise what she was trying to say with her sentence. His eyes widen slightly. "He was watching over me?"

Jules nodded. "And he also watched over me." She took a deep breath. "And all the people he loved."

Noah felt as if the ground was being pulled out from under his feet. One of his hands left the railing and clutched at Jules as he realised he couldn't take any more. He just grabbed Jules and clung to her like everything depended on it while his sobs broke out of him.

Jules gently led Noah away from the balcony's railing, guiding him a bit away. The tension that had gripped him began to subside as they settled on the cold floor of the balcony. He clung to her, seeking comfort in her presence.

They sat there together, the distant sounds of the city, the faint glow of the night sky and his soft sobs as their only companions. Jules listened as Noah's rapid breaths gradually slowed, his racing thoughts becoming more manageable.

As Noah began to regain his composure, Jules decided it was time to get him to bed. She helped him up, leading him to the room. Gently, she covered him with a blanket, ensuring he was warm and safe, both of them to exhausted to change him into different clothes.

But as she turned to leave, Noah's hand shot out and grabbed hers. "Please, don't go," he whispered, his voice filled with a vulnerability that tugged at her heart. "I'm sorry, Jules."

She sighed softly, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "We'll talk when you're clear-headed again," she promised. "Right now, you need rest." She pulled a chair next to his bed and settled into it, her eyes never leaving him. It was going to be a long night.

In the quiet of the room, with Noah's rhythmic breathing as the only sound, Jules sat watchful, her presence being a safe space for the troubled musician. The moonlight bathed the room in its soft glow, and despite the turmoil of the evening, their connection remained intact, unbreakable, and strangely comforting.

PART TEN

[compassionatereminders]

Over the last year and half, the emotional abuse in the abusive household I live in hit critical levels, my health deteriorated completely, I lost control of the OCD I didn't know I had and had been suppressing for years, I became so suicidal that I had to be hospitalized, I decided to burn all my friendships to the ground so I could kill myself. Worst of all, I hurt my best friend so badly and continually for months when she was trying her best to help me that she finally walked away and the rest of my friend group all blocked me in disgust.

They have every right to be hurt and I respect why they walked away. I'm even glad they protected themselves. But I feel like it's not fair to write me off for it. I don't know if that's what they've done, but they did it to another friend of ours who turned toxic because she was going through the worst time of her life. Who she was as a person and who she was for all the other years she was our friend didn't matter to them. They didn't just take space from her but leave the door open for her to come back when she took her head out of her ass like I did, even though it was me she targeted worst. I was hurt and angry on her behalf, and I think that was the beginning of the end of my friendships with them too, because that was when I started getting anxious that they'd do the same to me if I became too problematic. It was the OCD and fear of rejection that triggered that finally ended up taking over my whole mind. But even if it ended up being a self-fulfulling prophecy, I think if they've written me off completely like they did our other friend, they weren't that good as friends.

On the other hand I understand and even appreciate that the last straw was how I treated my best friend. If anyone else had treated her the way I did I would be the first to turn completely against them and hold a grudge for it too. It's one thing to hurt me, but it's another to hurt her. The fact that they all blocked me is a sign that they're caring for her the way I wanted her to be cared for back before I turned into a screeching harpy. I don't expect her to take me back but she's also the only person I trust to not judge me and our whole friendship by what I did at my worst.

Basically, I think the rest of them being angry on her behalf is justified, but if they've written me off on their own behalf they can kick rocks. Which is not a thought I have ever had in my life towards someone I've hurt, mentally ill or not. It disturbs me. Simply putting all the hurt I caused to a mental breakdown feels like I'm side-stepping taking accountability when the mental illness was the worsening of behavioural issues I've had my whole life. I've tried to address them but I didn't know what I was doing wrong, and I tended to blow up my relationships right before I got a diagnosis for each of my psych problems. I can never figure out how much agency I had in my choices.

It's all so confusing and contradictory. Is this more self-victimising? Am I standing up for myself or refusing to take accountability?

I'm really sorry you're struggling and hurting, and my heart goes out to you, but a brutal fact of life is that anyone has the right to cut contact with anyone for any reason, and this is a truth we have to make peace with or at least respect.

[salti-thelatediagnosedautist]

The learning about autism guide.

Learning about autism can take more nuance than one might realise.

A lot of the current info about autism is created and published without the input of actual autistic people. This is actually a problem with a lot of medical research and articles, but for autism it is especially true.

When researching about autism, it is important to find information from autistic people. Autistic sources.

One example of a bad place to research Autism is "Autism Speaks". Autism speaks is so notorious for it's misinformation, stereotyping and villainising of autism that it is actually largely considered a hate group by autistic people.

Things to look out for to know you are looking at a bad source about autism:

- Uses the term "Asperger's" as the main noun in place of autism.

- Is directed at parents. (Yes, even if you are a parent of an autistic child looking for advice this can still be a red flag! It is much more beneficial to look at sources written by autistic people as we know autism best!)

- Talks about any 'cure' of autism.

- Any negative framing of autism, eg "Autism is an illness". "Autism is damaging". "Autism is hiding in your children." (Anything that implies autism as a wholly negative disability is not going to be a good source.)

- Use of the puzzle piece or the colour blue.

- Anything that implies autism is "not a disability". Phrases might sound like "Autism is JUST another neurotype", "Autism is only disabling because of society", "Autism is not a disability, it's a different set of abilities".

- Encourages punishing stimming, or rewarding for not talking about special interests, or rewarding for not stimming. (These kind of strategies teach children to mask and ignore their needs, personality and interests which can become extremely damaging behaviours to their mental and physical health).

Signs that you have found a good source about autism:

- Uses the term "Autism" or "ASD" or "Autism Spectrum Disorder" as the main noun. Any use of the word "Asperger's" is historical in mention, or context specific. (Example "Autism used to also be referred to as "Asperger's Syndrome.")

- Is written by an autistic person, or directed towards autistic individuals. (This means you are learning about autism from the true experts!)

- Talks about strategies for managing the difficult parts of autism, focusing on the autistic persons internal experience, rather than focusing on not annoying other people. (Example might be, how to stop a meltdown before it starts, with healthy coping strategies for the autistic person to use).

- Neutral framing of autism. "Autism is a disability." "Autism affects social skills". No mentions of it destroying lives, being a "horrible" condition. Etc.

- Uses the rainbow or gold infinity symbol. Use of the colours gold or red.

- Talks about the positives and negatives of being an autistic person (ie, special interests can be beneficial for an autistic persons mental wellbeing)

- Encourages accepting autistic people as they are, stimming and all! (Explains what stimming is, what different kinds of stims are, with an aim of creating more acceptance of autism).

please feel free to add more points!

[saintmeghanmarkle]

ARE MEGAN AND HARRY SUFFFERING THE SAME MENTAL ILLNESS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.. by u/deedee50

ARE MEGAN AND HARRY SUFFFERING THE SAME MENTAL ILLNESS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.. I was reading up on various mental illness, all the signs, type of behaviour associated etc. i came across this explanation of Antisocial personality disorder. It was broken down into 2 paragraphs, first one fits megan, second harry.Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lack remorse or do not regret their behavior.The first paragraph seems to sum up megan, her behaviour to others being based on how high she views herself, putting herself before more worthwhile people. This very weekend, pushing Dr Sophie Chandauka, chair of Sentebale, out of positon so megan can take centre stage, or past moments like pushing the chairs out the way at the abbey, to make sure they came out behind W&C rather than further down line behind E&S.Second paragraph brings Harrys actions to attention,People with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. They have difficulty consistently meeting responsibilities related to family, work or school.Perfect summing up of harry. The part about behaving violently, or impulsively, we've all seen, heard rumours or had words from people here, regarding his violent attitude to women, especially thoses he's paid for. The drug and alcohol was exposed before Spare, but confirmed in it. Finally meeting responsibilities re school etc, failed at school, results were faked/edited to a pass (allegedly) he was allowed rank he didn't earn in the services, praise for fighting, yet with a nickname like Bunker Harry.They're a match made in heaven, 2 sides of the same mental issues (alledegly) IMHO.Your opinion? post link: https://ift.tt/DAxtQZI author: deedee50 submitted: April 15, 2024 at 01:01PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[beguines]

. . . it can be more accurately hypothesised that the current popularity of mental health self-surveillance and mental illness self-labelling results from psychiatric hegemony and its imbued neoliberal ideology of risk and personal responsivity. As Clarke et al. have stated of this focus on medical surveillance in neoliberal society: "[H]ealth becomes an individual goal, a social and moral responsibility, and a site for routine biomedical intervention . . . the focus is no longer on illness, disability, and disease as matters of fate, but on health as a matter [of] ongoing moral self-transformation.

Through psychiatric hegemony, then, we are all implicated as "at risk" of mental illness and must constantly self-monitor for potential signs of disorder (as many professional associations and drug adverts advise us). Clarke has summated the importance of this mental health self-governance in neoliberal society with reference to the rise of disorders such as ADHD. She states:

"Neo-liberal governance is typified by its emphasis on citizen involvement as individuals take independent action and become enterprises (or entrepreneurs) unto themselves and in a sense police themselves by internalising and enacting prevailing truths about the identification and management of risks . . . Neo-liberalism depends on self-governance (or in the case of children, governance by parents and similar authorities). For instance, mothers increasingly turn to . . . individualising children's (mis)behaviour as disordered through mental illness discourse, of which attention deficit disorder (ADD)/Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent around the globe today."

The parent has successfully sought help and aided the medicalisation of the child's deviant behaviour. This is a neoliberal process of social control which is so successful that Norris and Lloyd have noticed that the mental illness diagnosis often comes as a relief to the parent, "first, because they have located the 'cause' of their child's distress, and secondly, because they, as parents, are not to blame . . . Their child's 'abnormal' behaviour is, in this account, a medical issue to be rectified through medication that makes 'normal' their child's brain dysfunction."

Bruce M.Z. Cohen, Psychiatric Hegemony: A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"In 1919 Canada’s leading psychiatrist, Dr Charles Clarke, wrote an article in the Public Health Journal in which he reflected on “the chaotic state of affairs in Canada.” “Bolshevism is not a new world disease,” he explained, but merely a hot house product imported from the slum centres of Europe, where degeneracy has produced its inevitable results. The specimens of advocates of their doctrines we have met should never have been admitted to this country, as their influence for evil is difficult to estimate, although it is undoubtedly great. Certainly the ideals which have counted so much in the past in keeping this young country sane, and an example of virility, are in danger as a result of the type of immigration that has been fostered of late years. We have been nursing a reptile that may easily prove our undoing when it is fully developed.

It may seem odd that a doctor was making a contribution to the Red Scare. What did medicine, let alone psychiatry, have to do with radical politics? As it turned out, quite a lot. Thanks to the “science” of eugenics, many prominent members of the medical community joined the chorus of concern about the spread of Red ideas. For these professionals, it was another sign that Canadian society was in poor health, infected by aberrant ways of thinking. Bolshevism was a kind of mental illness; its spread was creating a public health emergency.

A year before his article appeared, Clarke, a professor of psychiatry and dean of the medical school at the University of Toronto, had co-founded the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (CNCMH). Along with his colleagues Dr Clarence Hincks, medical inspector for the Toronto school system, and Dr Helen MacMurchy, an obstetrician and expert on what were then called the feeble-minded, Clarke used the CNCMH to advocate in support of the fashionable field of eugenics. Conceived in England by the multi-talented Victorian scientist Francis Galton, eugenics proposed that most human deficiencies—mental handicaps, many diseases, physical disability—were inherited and could be eradicated by what were essentially selective breeding practices. Enthusiasts, and Clarke was one, even thought that crime, alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and other anti-social behaviours were inherited as well.

...

One response to this perceived public health crisis proposed by eugenics activists was to incarcerate people who were considered “feeble-minded,” or “retarded.” Feeble-mindedness was thought to be a menace responsible for all manner of social ills. Once identified, victims had to be shut away in institutions for their own good and for the good of the society they threatened. Another solution was sterilization, preferably voluntary but forced if necessary. The weak and the degenerate had to be stopped from passing on their inferiority. This led to calls for the sterilization of the mentally ill and disabled. Sterilization was endorsed by the National Council of Women and leading medical practitioners across the country. (In 1928 Alberta became the first province to pass a law allowing the involuntary sterilization of “mental defectives”; British Columbia followed suit in 1933.)

Eugenicists also targeted immigration as a source of concern. It may have been that too many “unfit” Canadians were giving birth, they argued, but even more crucial was the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from abroad. The huge influx of newcomers that swept into Canada in the years before the war—three million between 1896 and 1914, a sizeable number of whom were non-Anglo-Saxon in origin—provoked anxiety about the kind of “mongrel” society that was emerging. “Foreigners in large numbers are in our midst,” wrote the Ontario-born Methodist minister and social democrat, J.S. Woodsworth in his 1909 book Strangers Within Our Gates. “More are coming. How are we to make them into good Canadian citizens?” For the most part, British and American immigrants—believed to share the Anglo-Saxon values that dominated mainstream Canadian society—were exempt from these concerns.

But what was to be done about the others, the true “foreigners”? Many observers feared that they were diluting Canada’s true, British character in a sea of ethnic diversity. In the words of one Member of Parliament, Canada had become “the dumping ground for the refuse of every country in the world.” Another Ontario MP declared that Canadians must resist becoming “a nation of organ-grinders and banana sellers.” Others were more circumspect in their language, but basically said the same thing. For instance, Edmonton MP and newspaper publisher Frank Oliver, speaking in the House of Commons in 1903, suggested that many immigrants were “of such class and character as will deteriorate rather than elevate the condition of our people and our country …” Two years after making this statement, Oliver became minister of immigration in Robert Borden’s government.

Eugenics bestowed respectability on these ideas of race prejudice. Eugenicists agreed that Canada was being overwhelmed by the outcasts of Europe, but gave their arguments a scientific gloss. European countries were sending the worst of their people: paupers, slum dwellers, the criminal, the immoral, the mentally defective. Because of the misguided immigration policies of the government, Canada had become, in the words of the Quebec psychiatrist Thomas Burgess, “a ‘dumping ground’ for the degenerates of Europe,” and this was working to downgrade the quality of the Canadian population. The CNCMH threw its efforts behind attempts to restrict the flow of immigrants into Canada, especially immigrants from non Anglo-Saxon sources.

Immigrants were blamed for a rising crime rate in the cities and for swelling the populations in jails and asylums. And they were blamed for providing fertile ground for Bolshevik ideas. As the editor of Saturday Night magazine wrote, he did not think that the average English-speaking worker would be influenced by the “blood-thirsty ravings” of the Canadian Bolsheviks.

Unquestionably, however, our larger cities have very considerable foreign populations, who came to this continent in the belief that in America men could live without working, and who fairly revel in literature of this kind. If the government does not step in and nip the conspiracy in the bud, there is certain to be serious disorder.

Medical activists like Charles Clarke saw a connection between public health and political radicalism. As Clarke’s article in the Public Health Journal made clear, he considered Bolshevism to be a disease in itself, similar to other social problems such as alcoholism or insanity. But in addition to that, it was a temptation; so long as the intellectual capability of the population continued to deteriorate, the Reds would be able to attract ill-informed, feeble-minded followers to their cause, people who were too ignorant to tell dangerous social theories from sensible ones. Scaremongers feared that the Reds might be able to whip up this dangerous majority into the kind of revolutionary mob that had toppled governments in Europe."

- Daniel Francis, Seeing Reds: the Red Scare of 1918-1919, Canada’s First War on Terror. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2011. p. 131, 132-134.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Amos

Published: Apr 12, 2024

The Cass Review of gender medicine in England, released this week, captures a medical establishment waking up to a major scandal.

Thousands of transgender and gender-questioning English children have been exposed to harmful interventions under the medical treatment model called “gender-affirming care”.

This failure was caused by medical authorities who abandoned traditional safeguards in the face of pressure from international trans activist groups. Many other countries are now starting to acknowledge similar failures, led by Sweden and Finland.

Gender confusion is a normal part of adolescence that is likely to resolve without treatment in the overwhelming majority of cases. The gender-affirming care described in the review trapped gender-confused kids on a treadmill from which few escaped, leading from social transition, through puberty blockers, to hormone treatment and surgery in many cases.

As widely publicised when puberty blockers were banned in England a few weeks ago, these treatments have significant side-effects, including fractured bones, infertility and severe sexual dysfunction, which can be lifelong.

Cass makes it impossible for Australian authorities to continue to ignore warnings that Aussie kids and their families face the same systemic problems and clinical risks the English, Swedes and Finns are now scrambling to correct.

The explosive growth in gender-questioning patients and gender-affirming services in Australia closely retraces the English trajectory. But we started a few years later, so there is time to learn from England’s mistakes.

English medical authorities were forced to awaken by years of testimony from clinical whistleblowers, traumatised patients, and their families. The Cass Review followed books, media attention and legal cases, describing a health service heavily influenced by trans activist groups who infiltrated clinical units as patient advocates and supports.

Health staff reported they felt pressured to ignore signs of medical and mental illness in order to focus exclusively on gender, a process called diagnostic overshadowing. Even more damning, Cass reveals that gender-affirming providers ignored their own research, rapidly expanding access to dangerous medications such as puberty blockers even after finding there were no benefits.

The usual health system safeguards failed to detect this violation of the first principle of medicine: do no harm. Instead, problems were only identified because individual patients and staff had the courage to speak out over strong social and bureaucratic pressure to remain silent.

As well as ignoring their own research, English gender services actively refused to co-operate with official efforts to analyse existing data. This prevented investigators from getting a better picture of who was being treated, what was being done to them, and what the outcomes were.

While speculative, it seems unlikely that services would have refused to participate in research if they were confident it would show patients were significantly more helped than harmed by gender-affirming treatment.

Although these advance warnings should be good news for the health and safety of gender-questioning Australian kids and their families, our gender services do not seem to be listening. Instead, in many cases, they are making up for lost time by implementing more aggressive versions of the practices being shut down in England because of risks to patients.

For example, the Cass Review explicitly identifies “informed consent” models, similar to one being rolled out in Victoria, as incompatible with responsible medical practice. This type of model is grounded in political activist theory more than medicine. It views assessment of the gender identity of gender-confused teens as an illegitimate form of “gatekeeping” designed to control patient behaviour, instead of a medical safeguard protecting their health.

Under this model the doctor’s only role is to confirm that patients understand proposed treatments. Once confirmed, doctors must deliver any treatment the patient requests, without further assessment.

This contradicts the traditional medical approach, in which a comprehensive assessment, including the assessment of gender identity, is a non-negotiable feature of competent and ethical treatment of gender dysphoria. Even more concerning is that the “informed consent” model in Victoria is reportedly being extended to allow GPs to medicate transgender kids without specialists, going well beyond the safe limits recommended by Cass.

It may seem strange that Australia’s gender services are so keen to implement and go beyond risky treatments being shut down all over the world, but it is consistent with what is known about the gender-affirming care movement. This is a well-organised, well-funded international network of clinicians and activists committed to advancing a specific agenda.

Those interested in the details should seek out the report compiled by publisher Thomson-Reuters for gay rights organisation iglyo in 2019 called Only Adults?

In brief, the report compares international efforts to overcome strong public dislike of trans activist goals such as legislation enshrining the right to unconstrained gender self-identification in law, replacing biological sex with gender as the basis of legal rights, and the elimination of barriers such as lower age limits for non-traditional gender identities and treatments.

Based on case studies across Europe, the report recommends trans activists take a strategic approach to achieve their goals. Reflecting on evidence that increased public awareness of trans ideology tends to increase public resistance to it, the report recommends avoiding scrutiny by limiting contact with media and focusing efforts on influencing key decision-makers rather than attempting to change public opinion.

A core part of the strategy relies on establishing gender self-identification legislation as a legal foot in the door that can be leveraged to achieve many other trans activist goals.

The stakes are high, and not just for trans people. A case in Federal Court this week provides a perfect example, where a woman, Sally Grover, is defending her right to define for herself what a woman-only space means. The other party is a transgender woman, Roxanne Tickle, who is effectively claiming transgender women should have all the same rights as biological women, and be able to enforce those rights in court.

The rapid expansion of gender-affirming care, despite the limited evidence of benefits and the certain knowledge of harms, is consistent with this type of strategy. High-quality healthcare relies upon the integrity of the medical authorities who write the blueprints used by hospitals and health services to build their clinical services. This can work very well when the blueprints are written by independent experts who exercise methodological rigour focused purely on patient health outcomes. It can be deeply problematic when the small committees that write the blueprints are co-opted by people with ulterior motives.

Unfortunately, as confirmed by the Cass Review, the blueprints used to create gender services in Australia (endorsed by the WPATH and AusPATH organisations) scored very low on both methodological rigour (26 per cent and 19 per cent respectively) and editorial independence (17 per cent and 14 per cent).

Close examination of these blueprints suggests the primary goal of gender-affirming care in Australia is not to improve the health of gender-confused kids but to ensure they have the right to gender self-identification, and that public health services affirm that identity with support, resources, and medical and surgical interventions.

The rapid expansion of gender-affirming care to increasing numbers of gender-confused kids in Australia, despite the gaps in knowledge, represents a significant failure of leadership. While the reflex is often to blame politicians for systemic failures, medicine’s claim to expert authority in matters of health suggests political solutions will not be possible until the medical profession in Australia follows England’s lead and initiates a comprehensive review of gender medicine.

[ Via: https://archive.today/Flem8 ]

[siyasantlani111]

Don't hang out with low life loosers , hang out with yourself instead ~

Hi guys so today I'm going to talk about how you should not let people make you feel embarrassed of who you truly are. See one thing I have learnt about authenticity is that, no matter how many times you try to push your authentic self away, it will always come out, no matter how many times you try to neglect who you truly are it will always show up as a sign of wanting acceptance. My entire life I always tried to push off my authentic self and my creativity which came with it, because I was always taught to be ashamed of it and was always scared of being perceived however, I'm so grateful to god that I have the resources to realise my authentic self and just tap into her.

What is fear of being perceived?

Personally for me it was when people noticed me doing something, or they noticed me just dancing or buying something or legit just literally doing random things, whenever I'd go to places to buy something I would get anxious as I didn't want anyone to give me a lot of attention to a point where I feel embarassed of being who I'm. And I know where does this come from.

1) Be aware of your patterns and behaviours

See one thing I have and will have in my life is self education and understanding, this is something which will be in my soul until the end. When you are fully aware regarding why you have certain fears or reactions you can heal it, because then you recognise the reason behind the pattern and realise that was not really your pattern but was someone else's pattern or behaviour.

2) Don't listen to loosers

So this is something I would majorly love to focus on today, don't listen to loosers. Who are loosers? People with whom you feel embarrassed to be your authentic self , you know I don't give fucks about such people.

Recently life was getting so hard for me to a point where I was feeling physically ill because of my mental health.

I was in a toxic relationship with this friend who honestly betrayed me and bullied me and made me feel like shit, and honestly at that moment I couldn't realise it however I let them go, and then again I went back to them and now this is completely against what I usually write here, however they're not a part of me anymore.

See a lot of people are going to laugh at you and make jokes about you when you are being your authentic self, or when you have a goal in life and are working towards it, but do you give any fucks? No!

You know what I call these people who laugh at me? loosers. They can just get lost I don't care, I have a tunnel vision and I can only see that.

The other day I was sitting at class and I was just agreeing with my teacher whilst they were saying something, and people started making jokes about that too, I ignored them.

3) Anger is a good emotion if put into right places

You know when I went back to this toxic person they acted happy and were joking around me for a while and in front of other people they just complete ignored me, and ghosted me physically, they completely made me feel neglected as well as ignored me, I felt embarrassed for being so full of of love , I felt embarrassed of my own affection, I felt angry and depressed, and you know what anger says? It says hey you can't let this slide, your boundaries are crossed here.

This friend really ignored me in public when there were a lot of people around us, when there were few people we knew they acted like my friend.

I allowed this person to hurt me so much to a point where I was having crazy thoughts and was having sucidal thoughts. And then I was like wait! Fuckk offff! because honestly ain't no way this is healthy , because Siya is not going back to them because she felt like giving up . I felt like giving up my fucking beautiful life because this person made me feel unloved, I felt so bad that all I could see was darkness and totally lost connection with myself and my god. And honestly that's not something healthy, because who the actual fuck are you to make me feel like giving up on my life? And then this person is like “I ghosted you because I needed some alone time”, now I left them alone for good. I genuinely respect it when people need their space, but this person literally acts happy and normal once and straight up ignores me after few hours and then says I need space. I gave them space for good.

Because ain't no way you have so much power over me to make me feel like shit or make me feel so depressed to a point where I can't think about living.

And then i was like I'm a fucking miracle and honestly this person can just get lost. Because here I'm putting so much love and energy into them and they just ignore me in front of people like I'm nothing.

Fuckk offf.

4) Toxic people will never agree to what they have done to you

Toxic people are emotionally immature and miserable in life, and they don't like it when someone is not attached to them, because then they know they don't have power over them, see when someone is toxic no matter how many times you tell them that they hurt you or you felt betrayed they'd just make up excuses they'd say things like “omg but it's not my fault ” “omg but why should I get in the middle of this ” just leave them, no need to defend them. You know what I would also suggest if this toxic person gave you any gifts?

Then just give those gifts to needy people.

Because I made a huge mistake here, I would keep the gifts of toxic people even though I removed them from my life and that would constantly remind me of them, so one day I was like I'm actually going to throw it all out or just give it to needy people. And cheers! you just moved on.

Because if you don't do that you will constantly have their energy around you in the form of gifts, and you will constantly miss them a lot or it might be a distraction in your moving on plan.

Also just block these people who make you feel embarrassed.

5) Don't get too attached

Now the reason why I had suicidal thoughts was because I was really attached to this toxic person and gave them the power to make me feel this way, and thats when I realised I was too attached

What is an unhealthy attachment?

Unhealthy attachment is when you constantly just think about one person or you can't do any work because you are just attached to them and think about texting them, just block them or I don't like it when we are constantly texting or just say that I don't think its working out if we continue being on our phones all day texting or calling eachother or literally anything 24/7.

6) why do you find emotionally unavailable men attractive?

I don't know what these men are doing all day to make my beautiful ladies be obsessed with their emotional unavailability . Now I never had this problem anyway, because emotionally unavailable humans are just not my type. And honestly ladies if you like men who are emotionally unavailable then sit down and ask yourself why do you like such a shallow men? Is it his appearance you like? If yes then girl just go finger yourself and come back to the real world and see his true colours.

Also a lot of women start fantasising when a guy starts talking to them, don't do that babe you are setting yourself up for heartbreak.

Men are very selfish I'll tell you why, see there was this guy who needed my help so I simply just helped him, however when I needed help he would not really help me at all, he would only talk to me when he needed help, you know then I was like get lost.

See sometimes we don't like men we just have wounds to heal, once you start healing yourself you will see that and realise this guy wasn't even that special it was all your energy you were putting into him.

7) Mindfulness during autopilot mode

See a lot of people with ptsd are always on autopilot mode, they don't know how they are getting shit done, even though they're getting shit done. You know why does this happen? It's because of lack of mindfulness.

What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is being connected to your surroundings or whenever you are doing something or your brain just wanders off to some other place is not mindfulness. A lot of people find it difficult to be mindful in their day to day activities , you guys don't realise if we start being mindful of what we are doing we will be even more efficient and would be able to do deep work on that task.

Ways to practice mindfulness

1) activating the sense of hearing

Sit down and listen to the voices around you or go out in nature and listen to birds chirping.

2) activate your visual sense .

See the things around you and recognise them.

3) touch or hug a tree, and feel the sensations whilst touching it.

4) practice mindfulness while eating .

A lot of people aren't mindful when they're eating, and because of that we emotional eat.

8) Meditation and having a sense of individuality

I can't function properly without meditation or being alone atleast 1-2 hours a day. I feel constantly drained then.

And it is so important to have a sense of individuality if you want to be confident, or else you would have no opinions and would pick up on other people's opinion or their energies.

And ways to be alone is , going to calm places alone, there are certain places I go to and I don't like to take anyone with me because I just want to be alone and at peace.

And I practice my individuality in meditation too, and so can you, now I know for a lot of people its difficult to meditate in the beginning and it was for me too, because I'm a very restless person and I didn't like to sit at one place only, so I would mediate for just 5 mins a day that's it, you can do that by listening to 5 min guided meditations or by counting till 300 or whatever number.

And now I have reached a point where I can meditate for 1 hour and I enjoy it now.

9) being an energy picker

See I easily pick up on peoples energy so for example If I have to go out on a picnic for the entire day, one day before that I would feel a lot nervous to be around a lot of noise and a lot of people. Even though I would have a lot of fun however when I'm back home I won't feel calm even though it was fun to go out for an entire day. And this happens because I pick on energies pretty fast and because I'm an empath, so usually when I'm going out with people I love I still come back home and don't feel calm then I become extremely high on dopamine, which is a good thing but then again I can't focus on my own stuff because of that. This is not because you are an introvert it's just because you are an empath. Now see the thing with me is I'm not an introvert, I'm 100% an extroverted person however I still don't feel calm if I'm constantly around people even if they are nice human beings.

If you are an empath you have to be a little careful to whom you talk to because there are people who would drain you of your energy, because you would easily pick up on their energy.

10) innerwork is hard

See when I started working on my inner self and healing her, I have/had a lot of difficulties.

When we start meditating we become even more empathetic towards the world. But it can be a little dangerous because when you are working on yourself you start understanding yourself at a very deep level and also the people around you, but again its none of your business to heal or fix them, understanding people is a reflection of you understanding yourself. Also if you are at the stage of your healing where you just understand why people are like that then it's a sign that you have started embracing yourself and that's the only thing you can do.

And also because of that I have learnt something, that even if I understand why someone behaves in a certain way, it's none of my business to tell them that, don't just go around and tell this to people they would not understand it no matter how many times you explain them and also it's not your business to be honest, get out of there bro it's not your orbit their life is not your life, instead just go and understand yourself even more .

And again with empathy, don't just have empathy for people have it for yourself too because if you don't then, your boundaries are crossed.

11) therapy doesn't work at all

You know therapy won't work at all if you don't want to work on yourself or fix your wound.

Nothing works out if you don't want it to work out. See I always knew I needed to heal myself however for the first time when I got the opportunity to go get therapy I didn't take it, because i wasn't sure if it was going to work out or not. You know why I wasn't sure? Because I didn't want to heal myself and I thought it was cringe but when things started going overboard I knew I needed to go to therapy. And the first session I booked was literally postponed for 1-2 weeks however I still wanted to go! Because now I was like if I don't ask for help then I won't survive, I had no option but to go to therapy, I had no option but to talk about my problems even though I didn't like to open up. You know why I had to go and open up? Because you know what would have happened if I wouldn't have gone to therapy? I knew my inner self woud die one day if I don't go, I would completely loose Siya and won't be able go find her again, I would be stuck forever in my vicious cycle of trauma and that feeling scared me.

So I had no option but to open up even though I was scared of it and it was not my comfort zone.

12) going to therapy doesn't mean you are mentally ill

Listen the very very first time I went to therapy was in 5th grade and my teacher sent me there because she told me I don't know how to behave in class and then she called my parents. And felt like I'm mentally ill the reason due to which she sent me to a counselor made me feel mentally ill, and when I first went to that counselor right? I didn't open up about my problems I just answered whatever questions she asked me. And she was a shit counsellor so it's good that I didn't open up. Because she told everything to my teacher. And I realised that even when I was in 5 th grade I was ashamed to open up. You know why I was ashamed to open up? Because I was scared of being scolded at or hit or they would take it nonchalantly.

See if you open up with someone and they take it lightly and say it's not a big deal, then just don't deal with them. Because if you are feeling bad so much to a point where you don't like life anymore and someone just telling you it's totally light then just f them. Because your feelings are valid! And you are not the problem, here , they are. Because what do they know about how you are feeling?

Please consider your feelings valid if you don't like something you don't like it and it's not to be taken lightly.

Ok so I'll end this blog here guys. Thankyou so much for reading my blog, I'm so grateful to have you guys, I hope you consider your feelings valid and don't let anyone define it “unvalid” for you. I love you guys so much byeeee❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.

[jalshristovski]

Hey all 👋

Just saw a TikTok post with a stitch of a person who is obviously in spiritual psychosis. For those who don’t know, spiritual psychosis is psychosis induced by spirituality, religion, a belief of something that likely isn’t there, and the like.

Many Christians notoriously fall into spiritual psychosis, hence why many people in churches ignore their own needs and the needs of others because of ‘god’s plans’ and other things.

These are the signs of psychosis by WebMD

- Warning signs before psychosis: It starts with gradual changes in the way you think about and understand the world. You or your family members may notice:

• A drop in grades or job performance

• Trouble thinking clearly or concentrating

• Suspiciousness or unease around others

• Lack of self-care or hygiene

• Spending more time alone than usual

• Stronger emotions than situations call for

• No emotions at all

- Signs of early psychosis: You may:

• Hear, see, or taste things others don’t

• Hang on to unusual beliefs or thoughts, no matter what others say

• Pull away from family and friends

• Stop taking care of yourself

• Not be able to think clearly or pay attention

- Symptoms of a psychotic episode: Usually you’ll notice all of the above plus:

• Hallucinations:

~Auditory hallucinations: Hearing voices when no one is around

~Tactile hallucinations: Strange sensations or feelings you can’t explain

~Visual hallucinations: You see people or things that aren’t there, or you think the shape of things looks wrong

• Delusions: Beliefs that aren’t in line with your culture and that don’t make sense to others, like:

~Outside forces are in control of your feelings and actions.

~Small events or comments have huge meaning.

~You have special powers, are on a special mission, or actually are a god.

Spiritual psychosis falls heavily into those lines but has absolutely become socially acceptable.

Looking at the comments of that TikTok video definitely made me think. Many spiritualists like witches and pagans, especially those with religious trauma from being ex-Christians, condemn Christians and their belief systems for how they act. For example, many Christians will tell people who are ill they don’t need medical care, rather they just need to let the lord do his work, or blow off mental health issues as work of the devil.

Many deny actual modern medical care for their own methods, allow themselves delusions of talking to entities that likely aren’t there, and maybe worse of all, a lot try to convince people with hallucinogenic disorders that they actually have a “vision” or the ability to talk to otherworldly beings.

This is problematic in many ways, but the biggest would likely be convincing people, for example those with schizophrenia, that their hallucinations are real. Some schizophrenic hallucinations are dangerous and self destroying. The belief these are ‘visions’ and not hallucinations is dangerous not only for the person with schizophrenia, but possibly the people around them as well.

It can also convince people with a dangerous mental disorder that they don’t need help, and can further delusions of being a higher power themselves, or talking to higher powers.

Before this comes off as me saying schizophrenic people or other people with disorders causing hallucinations are dangerous, quite the opposite actually. But the way many modern spiritualists talk to them and try to convince them of their own beliefs, it CAN become dangerous.

Talking to otherworldly beings is not normal, whether you’re religious or not. And if you believe you are having conversations with otherworldly beings, look at your behaviour.

Spiritual psychosis is real. Some signs of it would include

• Talking to otherworldly beings

• Shifting (it is lucid dreaming)

• Hearing voices (not induced by a mental disorder)

• Believing you are in a relationship with an otherworldly being

• Manifestation (specifically the belief in a power bringing something to you if you believe it hard enough)

Being religious or spiritualist, you cannot ignore obvious signs of mental illness. If you choose not to believe in psychosis, you’re likely to end up hurting yourself and others.

Check out these screenshots from the TikTok ↓

Remember:

You can be spiritual without it being psychosis, but there is a line that is easy to cross. Don’t ignore symptoms.

I’m not hating on spiritualists at all, being a pagan myself of course not. But ignoring provable facts does not make you a better spiritualist.

[sayitaliano]

what’s the culture around disabilities and mental illnesses or disorders like in Italy? Like, socially is it acceptable or is it still taboo to talk about?

Let's say that the intentions are there, especially for physical disabilities, but we tend to hinder ourselves when it comes to put them into practice. The many architectural barriers we find around (eg. the lack in some train stations/public offices/sidewalks of working elevators and ramps) are a symbol to this, as the fact that many tend to not think about others' possible problems that much, unless you make them notice or it touches them in first person (not sure this is just our problem though).

Anyway... we lack the knowledge and understanding about mental issues, and often those suffering them are stigmatized or made neglecting their needs (it was/is uncommon, sadly, to hear people telling to someone suffering from depression, for example, to just get up and move on, cause "it's nothing/it will pass" or anything similar, as if it was laziness. We lack the knowledge that makes you go "Oh wait, maybe there's an hidden/mental/emotional important reason for this behaviour in that person, and it'd be good and right to help them find it out").

I think this partially originates from the fact that what were commonly called "manicomi" (or ospedali psichiatrici = psychiatric hospitals) in which people with different degrees of mental problems were cured or interned, were actually publicy/commonly seen as places for only crazy and dangerous people. In fact, especially many elders, cannot see (=don't really know there's) a difference between a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a therapist: generally if you need any of them, you are crazy (and even possibly dangerous) or you just have a not well-working mind and "it's scary". Again, this is because we lack the correct knowledge about mental issues and what they are about and how many different shades of them there are. And our Sanitary System doesn't help very much in this either (despite I think they were discussing a bonus for mental health not long ago? But it was just a random news, I have personally heard anything new on that).

Many schools and workplaces as well, do not even consider offering a psychological support for students and workers. You need to pay for it yourself (many renounce cause of the costs too ofc). Workers that give signs of huge distress are left at home (as far as I know, I might be wrong on this), not sure if all the companies or company's doctors may send you to a psychologist or something (again I'm not well aware of how things are now). As for schools... actually in my high school there was a small box in which to leave a letter for a psychologist but it didn't last much. I think either cause students feared being seen and judged while leaving their letter (so they rarely did that) or because it mostly felt like writing to Santa in wait for an help that we all doubted it could actually arrive (note: I'm old, so it probably was only one of the first tries ever). On the other hand, teachers and professors, even kindergarten ones that should help parents in discovering possible problems in kids, aren't formed well enough when it comes to deal with students' mental problems of every type. They have to rely on their empathy, but at times even those who may realize something tend to pretend they don't because they may fear overreactions (even abuse or more dangerous ones) from students: again something they're not prepared to deal with. One of my friends does service in a school (before/after). She followed a course on mental health but still she often messages me about not being really sure on how to deal with certain guys (and I'd say ofc, as everyone acts and reacts differently according on many different variables and those courses are not enough imo to prepare people for any type of situations... they just give you general rules, but general doesn't work for personal).

So in conclusion, there are basically no funds and even less preparation (and a little doctors/professional figures). I don't think it's taboo to talk about it, but it's just that... it's not a real problem, unless it's evident in the eyes of everyone, unless the person does somethinig "crazy" compared to society's norms (when it's indeed society the one making you develop problems in first place and stigmatizing you and isolating you -so yeah, many don't talk about it in fear of being judged as crazy and isolated maybe... so yeah in this sense it's a taboo especially for some people/in some areas, true-). And people that have mental issues are hardly helped, also cause doctors as well often do not have the correct support to do their job properly. After the pandemic I have notice people starting to talk about mental health much more often even on TV, trying to bring more awarness also about the different professional figures; I also noticed a bit more opennes in its regard, but it's again what I mentioned before: we're good or trying in theory, but when it comes to practice...

I'm leaving you a couple of articles. The first one (2020) is not for free, except for a couple of lines. The second (2019) is for free, and I think you can get the most of it despite the level of knowledge you have of Italian language (just ask if you want me to translate something)